


A True Heart

by danasccully



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2019-10-10 12:38:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17426060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danasccully/pseuds/danasccully
Summary: David and Jack are best friends at Hogwarts, and their relationship might just save everyone.





	1. Introduction

      David’s hands trembled uncontrollably as he stood on Platform 9 ¾, clutching a small envelope in his hands. His sister Sarah stood beside him, paying him no mind while she searched eagerly for her friends that she hadn’t seen all summer.

      David remember what his mother had told him about breathing when he felt this way. He sucked a deep breath in, held it for three seconds, then slowly let it out. He did this until his heart rate became somewhat normal. The letter in his hands was still shaking.

      “Sarah, I-” he began, turning to his sister, whose robes were swirling after her as she made a beeline to her squealing peers.

      David’s stomach tightened watching the only person he knew there walk away.

      _It’s okay, David. You’ve got this. You’ll make friends on the train. People aren’t going to hate you. That’s crazy. Why would they hate you? You’re-_

      “My name is Jack.”

      David turned quickly toward the voice. Next to him was standing a boy a few inches shorter than himself with scruffy blonde hair and electric blue eyes. His crooked smile gave David an immediate sense of ease.

      “Oh, uh, David,” he replied, his breathing slowly inching toward normal.

      “Hi David. Are you a first year? You look like a first year.” Before David could answer, Jack kept going. “I’m a first year too. Are you excited to start school? I am. My parents told me so many cool stories about Hogwarts. They’re not here right now. They would come, but they have to work. My mom works for the ministry. Isn’t that cool?”

      Just then, a huge, glorious locomotive came barreling into the station, accompanied by a thick cloud of steam.

      “Hey David, do you wanna share a compartment?” Jack asked, lifting his suitcase off the ground where he had set it down. David couldn’t help but notice that he only had the one suitcase while everyone else had multiple bags piled onto a cart.

      David nodded in response to Jack’s inquiry, relieved that he would have one less thing to worry about. He followed Jack toward the train.

      “My dad is a Hufflepuff, and my mom is a Ravenclaw. I don’t really think I have a preference. My mom thinks I’ll be a Gryffindor, but my dad wants me to be a Hufflepuff. I kinda think he just wants that because of house pride,” Jack rambled as David followed closely, trying to listen, but finding that difficult as his anxiety heightened and they boarded the train. It seemed like David and Jack were the only people there who didn’t have teary families to say goodbye to. David realized just how grateful he was for Jack.

      Jack led David to an empty compartment and the boys haphazardly stashed their luggage away in the overhead. Jack was also still chattering away when they took seats opposite one another.      

      “What about you?” Jack asked, then paused for the first time in a solid 15 minutes.

      “What?”

      “Houses, parents, what house you think you’ll be in?”

      “Oh, my parents are muggles,” David answered, his eyes darting to the floor. “But my older sister is a Gryffindor. She always tells me she thinks I’ll be a Ravenclaw.”

      “No way! That’s so cool. Does she still go to Hogwarts? What year is she?” Jack quizzed excitedly.

      “She’ll be a fourth year.”

      “You’re so lucky! She can tell you all the secrets!”

      David laughed. “I doubt it. She’s a little protective.”

      “Still. Cool. Hey maybe we’ll get sorted into the same house!” Jack exclaimed.

      “Maybe,” David replied. He hoped more than anything that he and Jack would get sorted into the same house. Then he would at least have a friend. Even if the friend was a little annoying.

      A screeching whistle shot through the train, followed by frantic running footsteps up and down the hallway.

      “The train must be leaving,” Jack said, his excitement apparent. On cue, the train lurched slightly and David’s fingers instinctively tightened on his seat. Jack pressed his face to the window.

      David’s thoughts began to race. _This is real. This is happening. Oh God this is happening. I can’t do this. I can’t-_

      “Look! The trees! Davey, we’re going to Hogwarts!” Jack exclaimed, turning to David.

      Looking at Jack’s massive grin, his wild hair sticking out in every direction, and sky blue eyes glittering, the voices in David’s head-just for a moment-went quiet.

      He inhaled deeply through his nose. “Yeah,” he sighed. “We are.”


	2. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DAVID, YEAR 4, NOVEMBER
> 
> Jack and David are best friends, but then Jack drunkenly admits something that he maybe shouldn't have.
> 
> ***Trigger Warning: Self Harm***

     “Hello?” David called groggily, awoken from a restless sleep by a commotion coming from the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes as he crawled out of bed and pulled back the curtain to Jack’s bed. Instead of seeing his sleeping best friend, David found an empty bed and an open bottle of gin. Before he had a moment to think, David was desperately banging on the bathroom door.

     “Jack!”

     No response.

     “JACK!”

     After a moment, a voice from inside feebly replied, “I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”

     “Jack, what happened?”

     David’s heart thumped wildly against his chest.

     “Nothing. Go back to bed, Dave,” Jack answered, his words slightly slurred.

     “Please, Jack. Tell me what’s wrong. I’m here for you.”

     Jack said nothing.

     David gave up on civilities and pointed his wand at the doorknob. " _Alohamora_." The doorknob clicked softly and David gingerly stepped into the bathroom.

     “Jack, oh my God.”

     Jack was curled up in a small ball in the tub. His face red from tears and his shirt red from blood leaking from a collection of small cuts on his forearm.

     David was on his knees at the tub, staring at the boy, truthfully unsure of what to do. He reached over and carefully pushed the hair out of his friend’s eyes. His normally bright blue eyes were dull and far away. He looked at David, which nearly stopped the boy’s heart. Jack looked scared. David had never seen him scared before.

     “Don’t cry, David,” Jack murmured, still giving him that horrifyingly helpless look.

     “Sorry, I--” David started, then suddenly stood up and prepared a cold washcloth for Jack.

     “David, I gotta tell you something,” Jack said, starting to giggle.

     David found a strip of gauze in the medicine cabinet and grabbed it as well.

     He returned to the tub and pressed the cool cloth to Jack’s forehead.

     “David. Davey. I gotta tell you something,” he repeated.

     “Okay. Then tell me,” David said, meticulously wrapping his arm in the gauze.

     “I like you.”

     David’s world came to a screeching halt. _Is Jack…?_ For a moment his arms detached from his body and his heart crashed through the tile floor of the bathroom.

     “And I don’t mean friend ‘I like you’.”

     David managed to squeak out a weak, “Jack please don’t.”

     “I, Jack Kelly, have a crush on you, David Jacobs.”

     “You’re drunk,” David whispered, trying to unbutton Jack’s bloody shirt, but finding it difficult given how badly his hands were trembling.

     Jack grabbed David’s shaking hands and searched for his face amidst the drunken blur.

     “Please, David. I need you.”

     David focused on the shirt and managed to unbutton it enough to pull it over Jack’s head.

     “Come on. Let’s get you to bed,” David said, pulling Jack’s unharmed arm over his shoulder and hauling him up to his feet. As they passed David’s bed, Jack pulled toward it.

     “That’s not your bed,” David reminded him.

     “I know,” he answered, still pulling toward it.

     Too tired to argue, David lead Jack to his bed. Jack collapsed onto the mattress and David pulled the blankets up to his chin. As he walked away, Jack grabbed his hand.

     “Stay,” he mumbled, already half-asleep.

     David hesitated, reminding himself of all the reasons why this was a terrible idea.

     Jack squeezed his hand until it ached. “Please,” he added, barely audible.

     Finally, David crawled under the covers and attempted to put as much space between him and Jack as possible. However, as soon as he pulled the covers up, Jack nestled himself into David’s chest and was fast asleep in seconds.

     Once David had measured Jack’s breaths and was positive he was deeply asleep, he whispered his confession to the ceiling.

     “I like you too, Jack Kelly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I guess I just made the impromptu decision to write this out of order which I know is super exciting and fun for anyone who was planning on reading this. to make things even better, im realizing that im going to have to switch perspectives as well, so get ready for that. hoping that I don't confuse myself and that this story still makes some resemblance of sense. if it makes it any better the next chapter is happening directly after chapter one!


	3. Sorting

    "David Jacobs!" Professor McGonagall proclaimed. David's stomach tightened.

     _This is it._

Next to him, Jack jabbed David in the ribs. "It's your turn!" he whispered.

    David scurried up the steps and carefully placed himself on the stool. The hat touched him curls and suddenly the thudding in his ears was replaced by the deep voice of the Sorting Hat.

    "Hm... quite clever, aren't you?" it pondered. David's grip on the edge of the stool tightened. "You'd do well in Ravenclaw... however I do feel a fierceness within you that I dear could go to waste... So I do declare you..."

    David's heart seemed to come to a full stop.

    "Gryffindor!"

    As the Gryffindor table erupted into uproarious applause, David let out the breath he had been holding. On his way down to the table, he pinned at Jack, who was beaming at him.

    David's sister Sarah was whistling loudly and waving David over.

    "So you're a Gryffindor after all, huh?" she remarked as he sat down next to her. "Welcome, Dave," she said, messing up his curls.

    Soon after David got settled at the Gryffindor table, Jack's named was called. He nearly sprinted up to the stool.

    "Ah, Jack Kelly. I've been waiting for you, boy," the hat growled. "Strong family line of pureblood, brilliant parents, incredible potential with you, Jack."

    Jack listened intently, hanging on to every word.

    "There's something special within you, boy. Gryffindor!"

    Jack shot to his feet before McGonagall could even retrieve the hat from his head. Just like for David, the Gryffindor table burst into cheers. David stood and applauded enthusiastically. He waved Jack over and gestured to the seat next to him.

    "David!" Jack exclaimed, approaching his new friend. "We're in the same house!"

    "Yeah! Your mom was right," David replied.

    Jack smiled back, surprised David remembered.

    "Jack, this is my sister, Sarah," David introduced. "Sarah, this is my friend Jack."

    Sarah waved cooly at Jack, and Jack's face instantly turned bright pink.

    "Well Sarah," Jack began, and David noticed his voice dropped about an octave. "It's a pleasure to meet you, and an honor to be placed into the same house as you."

    Sarah only scoffed at him and turned her attention to her friends.

    Jack shrugged and shifted his focus to the remainder of the first years getting sorted.

    David stared at the back of Jack's head, running those words over and over again through his head. His stomach was firmly knotted, but he wasn't sure why. Guys flirted with Sarah all the time, and he never cared. Why did it bother him this time?


	4. Joy Ride

    "David! David, wake up!" Jack whispered urgently, kneeling next to David's bed.

    David peeked out from a pile of blankets.

    "What's going on?" he groaned.

    "Get up. I have a surprise," Jack answered, biting his lip in anticipation.

    David sighed and emerged from the pile.

    "Come on, put on a coat," Jack ordered, tiptoeing to the door.

    David managed to pull on a coat and a pair of shoes and met Jack at the door.

    "Jack, we can't leave our dormitory this late at night," David reminded him. "What time is it anyway?"

    "Doesn't matter. Now let's go." Jack opened the door and began creeping down the stairs.

    "Jack!" David called.

    Jack paused and looked back at his friend. "Come on!"

    As much as David wanted to get back in bed and avoid any risks, he couldn't resist Jack's excited grin. David closed the door behind him and followed Jack down the stairs. Jack led him to the common room and knelt down behind a couch. He retrieved a broomstick.

    "Jack! What is that?" David demanded.

    Jack smirked casually. "It's Delancey's broomstick."

    The disbelief was apparent on David's face.

    "And what exactly do you plan to do with it?" David asked in a high-pitched tone.

    "We're going for a little joyride," he replied, heading toward the door.

    "Oh no we are not," David shot back.

    "Come on, Davey. It's not a big deal," Jack coaxed, eyes glinting mischievously. "It'll take an hour, tops. Besides, haven't you ever wanted to fly? I know you've never done it before, and I can't think of anyone better to take you."

    After a moment, David sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. But we'd better be back here in an hour."

    "Of course, Davey."

***

    The early September air was still warm from the summer. The sky was pitch black and lightly speckled with a couple distant stars.

    "Where did you learn to fly anyway?" David asked as Jack led him away from the castle.

    "My dad. He played Quidditch when he went here."

    Finally, Jack stopped. "Here we are." He straddled the broom and gestured for David to climb on behind him.

    David eyed the broom for a long moment, then climbed on behind Jack.

_What am I doing?_

    "Hold on!" Jack called, and David carefully crept his hands around Jack's chest. In an instant, the broom shot straight into the air, and David involuntarily yelped. He held onto Jack with an iron grip.

    Jack shouted with joy while he guided them above the tips of the trees in the Forbidden Forest.

    David's heart raced faster than it ever had before. His eyes were clenched shut and the wind whipped his curls wildly around his face.

    Finally, the broom slowed to a stop, and David carefully peeked out from behind Jack's shoulder.

    "Check this out," Jack said with a proud tone in his voice. In front of the two boys was an incredible and expansive view of the Forbidden Forest leading up to the backside of the castle.

    "Woah," David breathed.

    "Pretty cool, huh," Jack commented. They stayed there for a couple minutes, taking in the view, listening to each other's breathing. David loosened his grip on Jack slightly.

    "Ready?" Jack asked, and before David could answer, they were off again.

    David's heart thudded rapidly in his chest, which was pressed close against Jack's back.

    They shot through the warm night air toward the castle. David kept his eyes open this time, and tried to turn his terror into something closer to excitement.

    They flew up and over the roof of the castle, Jack being careful to avoid any windows of professors' sleeping quarters. Jack took them to the Quidditch pitch, where they wove in and out of the hoops, then dropped and grazed the field.

    "I'm gonna be a seeker, you know," Jack exclaimed, matter-of-factly.

    "My sister's a beater," David mentioned.

    "Sarah?" Jack responded, with a little to much excitement in his voice.

    "Yeah," David said, instantly regretting mentioning her.

    Finally, they began heading toward the back entrance they had come out of. Before they dropped to ground level, however, something on the roof caught their attention.

    "What's that?" David wondered, suddenly terrified again.

    "I dunno. Let's go find out."

    On the roof of the castle, there appeared to be a smallish figure faced away from them.

    "It looks like a girl," Jack noted, as they slowly approached the figure. Jack brought the broom to a stop on the roof a couple feet behind it, and climbed off. David followed suit.

    The figure jumped slightly and turned around. From the light of the moon, David could make out the small, solemn face of a girl probably not much older than him. She had thick dark bangs that hung over sunken, dark circled eyes. A cigarette was perched between her fingers.

    "You prefects?" she asked, her voice sharp and fierce.

    "No. First years," Jack answered, and David slowly crept out from behind him. "I'm Jack Kelly, and this is David Jacobs."

    "Pulitzer. Katherine," she said, shifting to face the boys.

    "Pulitzer? Like _the_ Pulitzers?" Jack exclaimed incredulously.

    "Yep. That's me," she replied, failing to meet Jack's excitement. She took a long drag from her cigarette. She offered it to the boys. David shook his head rapidly.

    "What is it?" Jack asked, to which David couldn't help but laugh. "What?"

    "It's a cigarette. Muggle drugs. Tobacco. Highly addictive. Fucking nasty," Katherine explained.

    Jack peered at the small white roll in her hand and reached for it.

    "Suck in," Katherine instructed, and Jack did as she said. "Okay, okay, stop," she went on, as Jack breathed in a massive amount of her cigarette. "Now don't let it out just yet. Inhale it, let that cancerous shit get deep into your lungs."

    Jack managed to breathe in through his nose, despite the growing burning sensation in his throat.

    "Now, breathe out," she instructed, and he did. "It's awful, isn't it?"

     Jack shrugged as he returned the cigarette to Katherine. "I kinda liked it."

    "Well I'm out here every night giving myself lung cancer." She paused and gave Jack a once over. "You're welcome to join me any time."

    "I might just take you up on that," Jack answered, grinning slightly.

    Katherine noticed the red and gold scarf wrapped tightly around David's neck. "You both Gryffindors?"

    "Yeah," Jack responded.

    "Well, then I guess I'll see you around, Jack Kelly, and uh..."

    "David," David piped in.

    "David," she added, and turned back around.

    Jack and David mounted the broom and descended the roof, toward the entrance.

    "She's so cool," Jack said to David, once they were out of earshot and back on the ground.

    "Hm. Yeah," David replied, although "cool" was not the first word that came to mind for him. He was leaning more toward "terrifying".

    "I think I'll ask her out," Jack concluded.

    "Oh, uh, good luck," David said, taken aback by the statement.

    "I mean, she seems like, what, no older than third year," he speculated. "What's the worst that could happen?"

    As David followed his friend through the door and toward the Gryffindor common room, his legs suddenly felt weak, and his hands, which had minutes before been clinging to Jack's chest, felt like someone else's hands, floating by his side. 


End file.
